Creating Miniature Worlds: Interview with Felix Hernandez
A little ingenuity can go a long way when it comes to editorial photo shoots. Felix Hernandez was asked to shoot a $200,000 Audi sports car and instead he used $40 toy car to deliver these shots:
Image credit: www.hernandezdreamphography.com
One can say that fragments of the artist’s imagination have actually come to life. Felix Hernandez creates realistic, miniature worlds with the use of a few intricate props and an artistic touch. Today we look at some behind the scenes shots and have a chat with the artist about his work.
“What’s really cool is doing as much as you can in-camera. For snow scenes, I use wheat flour. For desert scenes, I use corn flour. For atmosphere, I add smoke. For rain, I spray water. For droplets, I add corn syrup.“
Allow me to take you on a journey of some of Felix’s outstanding creations.
Inner Trip
Image credit: www.hernandezdreamphography.com
Troopers
Image credit: www.hernandezdreamphography.com
The Crow and the Dove
Image credit: www.hernandezdreamphography.com
War Wings
Image credit: www.hernandezdreamphography.com
The Wardrobe
Image credit: www.hernandezdreamphography.com
To watch more on the making of The Wardrobe scenery, check out this video:
Artist’s background
Felix Hernandez Rodriguez is a conceptual and commercial photographer as well as a graphic designer from Cancun, Mexico. Felix works with creative concepts, bringing his characters and subjects to life through some very special techniques. His works have quickly gone viral and the results are right before you.
Your works are very artistic, how did a background in graphic design help you in your creative pursuits?
For me being a Graphic designer before being a photographer helps me a lot… because the way I was taught to think, seeing or seeking always for a more creative “angle” or point of view. Also because in graphic design you learn to get an idea or concept and bringing it to life in a way everyone can understand in a simple way, and of course learning the technical side of digital art and post production.
What inspires you go create your works?
Almost everything around me inspires me, but most of my inspiration comes from my dreams. We sleep a third part of our lives, so why not using that time to do something. Dreams act as a blender of ideas, your common day, your fears and yearns and you can manage to “program” them in some way to come up with great ideas. Dreams are like a fantastic journey you take every night.
How long do your photoshoots take and what is your creative process like?
It could be 1 day or it could be 1 month to produce them, that for the “technical and production side, but ideas sometimes take longer.
My process is almost the same for commercial or personal projects. I have an idea or a brief… I do some research about it, then I take all that info into my dreams where normally blends with other stuff of who I am… Then maybe after 3 to 4 days I come up with a “creative idea”. That creative idea I have to modify so it could be more to the ground and everyone can understand it. Then I start planning how I’m going to shoot it and start getting or building all the materials or objects I’m going to need. Then I go to the studio, shoot and then the post production process. And that’s it.
You were really clever and creative with your Audi car photoshoot, how was your project received?
The project was received just great. It just did was it was suppose to do. The clients were very happy with the results and so am I.
What are your thoughts on the future of photography and digital arts?
The things are getting interesting since photography and digital arts is now open almost for everyone who wants to get in. Technology helped a lot, some times in good way, sometimes not so good… But at the end I think that photography and digital arts are only tools at the service of the creative vision. So at the end I think ideas is what matters and will always do.
To see more works from the artist, visit his website, or follow him on 500px, Facebook, and YouTube.
